Alone and Still Alive
by Stratofarius
Summary: She was free. Finally free. Another quick one-shot about Chell leaving Aperture Science.  Contains massive spoilers for Portal 2!


She was free.

... Oh my God. She was free. The thought just got to her head.

Chell took a long moment to absorb the moment. Free. She was free. No more GLaDOS. No more turrets. No more cores… and most importantly, no more _portals_. No more Aperture Science. All that was left was her, the Companion Cube, and the wheat field with that beautiful sky. Chell smiled, and began to cry. It was over. Finally over.

The first thing she did was take a bath. Carrying her faithful companion cube, she walked over to a nearby river, and for the first time, got off the "Aperture Science Test Subject Clothing Set", and even though it was just for a few minutes, it felt as refreshing as ever. Luckily, the long fall boots didn't short circuit or something like that- Chell quickly noticed there was no way to remove those from her leg without… well… surgery. And unfortunately, the only being in the world that knew how to perform that surgery was inside that shed. Urgh. No way she was going back. Then, she slept. Cuddled together with the companion cube, she slept for the first time since… well... she couldn't really remember. But it wasn't a sleep a machine induced… neither some stupid stasis that left her sleeping for over one hundred years. It was nothing but a simple sleep. She dreamed about Aperture Science, and how GLaDOS was doing with those two robots she saw before leaving. She also dreamed about Wheatley, and how probably he was just floating out there in space.

As she woke up, she was greeted again by the beautiful blue sky she saw the day before. Good. No rain, no snow… just a blue sky with white, fluffy clouds. She thought of what to do. Hugging her companion cube, she looked around. What to do, what to do. She'd probably need to find civilization. Maybe there was a city nearby. Then she could explain the whole thing, and if they didn't believe her, she had the shed to prove. And the companion cube. They probably kept a few records about Aperture Science. And then she would get a new home… and sleep on a true bed… and make true friends… friends… friends… the thought echoed on her head. Up to that moment, who were their friends? Wheatley… although THAT didn't turn out well. And there was that green core, Rick, although their relationship was too short. Her only true friend was a companion cube. A cube. The thought of returning striked her head. No, Chell, don't do it. Don't go back into that place. You'll be fine. Go find friends. A nice guy. Have a family. You don't need to go back in there.

The next thing she knew, she was walking with her companion cube. Walking to where? She didn't know. All that she knew is that her instinct told her to go that way. That was actually the first time she listened to her instinct. It was her instinct that told her that putting Wheatley on GLaDOS body was a bad idea. But did she listen to it? No. Well, now she was listening to it. Good work, Chell. That's probably what GLaDOS would say. Yeah… and then they would laugh, except she wasn't laughing. GLaDOS. She said that Chell should not come back. Maybe… Chell should listen to her? Or listen to her instinct. She kept walking for a few hours until she spotted smoke. Her mind was filled with happiness- smoke! That must mean… fire! Which must mean… people! She ran towards the smoke, carrying the companion cube with her. Chell was almost crying with the excitement.

And then, the excitement was gone.

It was a destroyed city. On the streets, nothing but corpses and skeletons. Some corpses belonged to humans, wearing vests with a symbol that resembled some scientific shtick that she couldn't understand. The others looked like cops, with gasmasks on their heads, and machine guns on their hands. And they were all… **dead. **Destroyed buildings, partly destroyed buildings, that place had it all. It was totally, and utterly, destroyed. She could not believe it. No signs of life. They were all gone. No one was there for her. No one remained in that world for her. In her mind, she could walk, walk, and nothing would be there for her. She fell to her knees, and screamed. Talked for the first time in a long time. She cried like there was no tomorrow. She ran past the Companion Cube. She ran past a pile of dead bodies. She ran past a destroyed building, and a body sticking out of the window, like it was asking for help. She ran, ran away from it all.

The sun was setting down when she arrived at the shed. At first, she did something she thought she would never do. She started banging on the shed's entrance. "PLEASE!" she screamed, "LET ME IN!". Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she banged the door. It would not open. "I BEG YOU! LET ME IN!" She tried looking for another entrance, and found nothing. She tried digging to get under the shed, and ended up hurting her hands. It was night when she stopped banging on the door. Chell slowly fell down to the floor, hiding her head between her legs, crying. It was over. She was alone.

Alone and **still alive**.


End file.
